Select Local Merchants

Along with great pizza, Little Joes cooks up five-star reviews, so be sure to swing by for a casual slice.
Plan to indulge a bit at Little Joes, though, because they don't offer any low-fat fare.
You'll find a wonderful selection of drinks from Little Joes' full bar to top off your meal.
Parents appreciate Little Joes' kid-friendly attitude, and little ones are often seen dining out with the adults.
Score quick and easy seating for groups of any size at Little Joes.
Dress is typically casual at Little Joes, so leave the fancy duds behind for the evening.
Delivery and takeout are also available. You'll be knocking down our door to pick up your food, or we'll be knocking down yours.
Looking for something delicious to serve at your next party? Little Joes also offers catering.
The lot adjacent to Little Joes provides free parking for diners.
An average meal at Little Joes will set you back about $30.
Treat yourself to breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one place
the pizzeria offers three main meals a day, though dinner is the real winner.

You won't be disappointed at Italian Fiesta in New Lenox, where well-prepared eats and delicious drinks rule the menu.
Foods low in fat are not on hand here, though, so get ready to loosen your belt buckle.
At Italian Fiesta, you can dine with your immediate family and your extended family due to the easy seating for large parties.
You'll want to time your arrival to Italian Fiesta just right since reservations are not accepted.
Business casual dress, tasty food and a classic atmosphere makes this a great place for any occasion.
Can't stay long? Not a problem with the restaurant's take-out and delivery options.
Italian Fiesta can also cater your next party; call today for details.
Free parking is available right next door.
The menu at Italian Fiesta is reasonably priced, with most items costing less than $30.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all available at Italian Fiesta — swing by for your favorite meal.

Whether you are looking for a slice of pizza or a whole pizza pie, New Lenox's Nancy's Pizza offers a wide variety of pizza types and sizes.
The gluten-free and low-fat fare at Nancy's Pizza will leave you happy and full.
No suit, no problem! The dress code at laid-back Nancy's Pizza is ultra casual.
Feed the gang at your next get-together with catering from Nancy's Pizza as well.
Delivery and take out are both available if you prefer to eat in the comfort of your own home.
Nancy's Pizza is a local eatery that serves up free parking.
A visit to Nancy's Pizza will set you back less than $30 per person, so you can make it a regular part of your schedule.

Craving pizza? Head on over to New Lenox's Pizza King for a tasty slice with a crust you can't resist.
Gluten-free and low-fat eaters will enjoy the menu at Pizza King.
Business casual dress, tasty food and a classic atmosphere makes this a great place for any occasion.
Enjoy mind-blowing dishes in the peace and quiet of your own home with delivery or takeout from Pizza King.
Looking for something delicious to serve at your next party? Pizza King also offers catering.
Free parking is always available just seconds away from Pizza King.
Most items on the menu are reasonably priced, so expect to spend around $30 per person at Pizza King.

A culinary gem, Pizza Mia in New Lenox on Laraway Rd is a popular spot for amazing pizza and tasty pasta. It's an ideal choice for those that want awesome food.
There's no particular required attire, so feel free to dress comfortably.
In addition to its quick service (take-out is available), the restaurant also offers delivery, and can even cater an event for you.
One of the better pizza chains in the area, a trip to Pizza Mia is definitely worthwhile, no matter how you slice it. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.

Jody's in New Lenox is a well-known deli, offering a laid-back atmosphere with amazing pizza. It's a popular spot for guests interested in terrific food.
No specific attire is required, so feel free to dress casually and comfortably.
In addition to its quick service (take-out is available), the restaurant also offers delivery, and can even cater an event for you.
A staple in the community for more than 15 years (and counting), Jody's stands out, no matter how you slice it. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.

Groupon Guide

If you love pizza as much as we do, there is really only one destination to consider. The place that made deep dish pizza world famous, spawned plenty of wannabe emulators in other cities, and daily makes pizza lovers out of the many tourists who visit. The Windy City of Chicago. With literally hundreds of pizza places to choose from in this pizza mecca, how in the world do you know where to start? Begin with the aforementioned deep dish pizza, then proceed to sample as many varieties as you can manage and you are on the way to becoming a true Chicago pizza expert.1. Giordano’s Famous Chicago PizzaProclaimed Chicago’s Best Pizza by a number of reputable sources including the New York Times, Giordano’s has the thickest deep dish, stuffed pizza you will ever see. In 1974, Efren and Joseph Boglio moved to Chicago from Italy and were frustrated not to find authentic deep dish, stuffed pizza, so they opened the very first Giordano’s and the rest is pizza history. This double-crusted, ricotta stuffed concoction is the perfect introduction to Chicago pizza although you may be a little overwhelmed when they plunk down this amazingly thick pizza. But dig into your first slice, cut by the experienced waitresses, and you will be an instant fan.2. Pequod’s PizzaPequod’s Pizza is probably the pizza place with the most unusual name but they are also the pizza place with the most unusual crust. Before cooking the pizza, the chef spreads a thin layer of cheese along the outside of the crust. As the pizza cooks, the cheese melts and caramelizes, creating a chewy crust that is incomparable and absolutely delicious. That crust forms the base for a rich, delicious pizza. With only two locations, you will have to go out of your way to find this place but it has tons of rabid fans so you know it’s worth your time. As this unique pizza takes quite a while to cook, plan to call ahead to order your pizza and they will deliver it piping hot to your table.3. Pizzeria Da Nella Pizzeria Da Nella is where you are going to find some of the freshest pizza ingredients in the city and the best and most authentic Neapolitan pizza you will ever taste. Nella, the owner, insists on only fresh ingredients which are flown in from Italy including the mozzarella cheese which is unlike anything you have ever tried. Like a true pizza from Naples, Italy, these are cooked in a unique wood oven stove made of Naples bricks and constructed by three guys from the Mediterranean coastal city. Try their Margherita pizza and you will leave happy.4. Coalfire Pizza Coalfire Pizza also uses a different oven for their delicious pizzas but theirs, true to their name, is coal fired. The hot oven makes their thin crust pizzas come out with a slightly charred crust and hot, bubbly cheese from the 800 degrees. Because their pizza crust is thin to cook quickly and thoroughly in the oven, they recommend no more than two toppings evenly distributed so this is not a place to get a pizza with ingredients on one half; it’s much better evenly balanced. Their pizzas are also better piping hot so plan to spend some time in the restaurant enjoying this offering.5. Pizano’s Pizza Pizano’s Pizza will be the easiest to find as they have several locations but extra locations doesn’t mean they skimp on quality. They have been in the pizza business since 1991 and the owner’s father started making pizzas in 1943. Oprah Winfrey calls their pizza “her favorite” and, once you taste their distinctive thin crust with its caramelized edges and pastry like base, you will be a fan as well. Using high quality ingredients and serving it in a comfortable, homey atmosphere gives this pizza its own special place on the list of best pizza places in Chicago.

For four days in July, the Groupon Guide got taken over. Not by the tiny, glowing aliens that live inside our showerheads, but by summer campers from nonprofit writing and tutoring center 826CHI. Partnered with Groupon employees, the 22 budding scribes became Groupon Guide reporters for the day, scribbling down their thoughts on everything from the song of the summer to Lady Gaga’s out-there outfits.
Their assignment for the Food & Drink section was simple: each kid picked a pizza topping and wrote an argument for or against its inclusion on an ideal pie. But from these humble beginnings came some truly compelling prose. We were blown away by the eloquence of campers’ defenses of pineapple, pepperoni, and sausage, and the incisiveness of their scathing takedowns of jalapeño peppers and sriracha. (Spice, it turns out, is not that popular with the under-16 set.)
Below are some delicious excerpts of their work.
Pineapple Keeps Pizza Interesting
By Lara Unnerstall & Isaiah Finklea (Grade 7)
When I’m about to eat pineapple pizza, I’m very excited. Pineapple is a great pizza topping because it's sweet. It's not like any other pizza topping; it's unique because there are no other common sweet pizza toppings. It contrasts with the other typical flavors. Sometimes it's sour, too, which also tastes good. The flavor varies, so it keeps the pizza interesting. The texture is good because it's like Gushers candy; when you bite into it the juice comes out. It smells good, too; it makes you think of Hawaii, which is a beautiful place. If you want a detailed, interesting pizza, put pineapple on it. It's a citrus fruit, and contains vitamins like vitamin C, so it's good for you, too.
Garlic Helps Ward Off Your Enemies
By Jess Duff & Elizabeth Barrett (Grade 4)
Garlic is good because you can have bad breath after you eat it. You can ward off your enemies. I have many enemies. But the downside of the garlic breath is that you might have to ward off your friends, too, which would be kind of sad. But you could always warn them.
Pizza is Plain Without Sausage
By Christie Succop & Nathalia Gomez (Grade 7)
I feel like the pizza tastes plain without the sausage to go with it. When my dad takes the pizza out of the oven the first thing I smell is the sausages on the pizza. I started off not liking the sausage because I never tried it and judged it by the way it looked. Now that I am older and willing to try new foods I like the way the sausage tastes.
I also like how sausages come in different varieties so you can try different ones until you find the one that you like. Sausage can be found in many places of the world so it can be available to everyone. Sausage can be eaten by itself or with other foods depending on what you prefer. For people who don’t eat meat they do have vegetarian options out there. With all the different types of sausages out there, there will probably be one that you like.
Onions Taste Weird
By Christie Succop & Diego Delira (Grade 2)
Onions make you cry when you peel them. They are round. They have skin. They feel weird in your hand. The skin is crusty. They smell weird. It tastes weird. It sounds crunchy. It’s a plant. Onions are vegetables. There are different kinds. When it’s growing, it gets hairy. Onions are grown in 20 states. The US grows 4.5% of the world’s onions. US farmers plant 125,000 acres of onions each year.
Pepperoni is Yummy but Greasy
By Jess Duff & Elizabeth Barrett (Grade 4)
I like pepperoni because it’s really yummy, but I don’t like pepperoni, because it’s too slimy and greasy. But the good part about it is you can dump the grease off and then you’ll have very good, yummy pepperoni. It tastes a lot like bacon and smoked meats, which I like a lot. I don’t like it when it’s so greasy, that it makes a puddle of grease. It doesn’t taste very good and is like oil, and it is unhealthy. [...] My dream pizza would have a graham-cracker crust, it would be Oreo-flavored, have Oreo sprinkles on top, and it would be from Giordano’s, which is a very good pizza place. Their pepperoni is not very greasy at all, and there are no puddles.
Cheese is Very Versatile
By Catherine Bullard, Daniel Campos (Grade 8), and Zuri Yearwood (Grade 5)
Who wouldn’t want cheese on their pizza? The stretchy-ness of cheese is like taffy and likeable, plus it’s smooth and slippery in your mouth. It’s a nice contrast to other ingredient textures because of its hot, chewy texture. Cheese is so versatile, because it goes well with every topping. There are too many to count. It even tastes good by itself. It is affordable because you do not have to spend extra money on your pizza. [Cheese] is one of the basic building blocks of a pizza, who wouldn’t want that? It comes with many different flavors… If you aren’t in the mood for toppings, you can have it by itself. We recommend deep-dish pizza because of the delicious cheese it contains and because it is very filling.
Green Peppers Ruin the Fun of Pizza
By Daphne Sidor & Sofia Delira (Grade 4)
A couple days ago my aunt made a pizza and she told me it only had cheese on it, but when I ate it I found a green pepper just on the pizza. I was like, “Oh, my god.” It was already in my mouth. I didn’t end up eating any more.
Green pepper is not a good pizza ingredient for everybody because it is too spicy—it ruins the fun of pizza. When I order pizza, maybe I just want to have fun. Pepperoni is a fun ingredient: it’s a little spicy, but not too spicy. Green pepper is not a good pizza topping for most kids. Adults are usually used to spicy things because they get used to having spicy things as they get older.
Green pepper can also be gross—we found a picture of a green pepper with another pepper growing inside it. Green peppers could be good for things other than pizza: if you used a green pepper as a little house, a ladybug would fit inside or a couple of ants. You could also use different colors of bell pepper as traffic lights. But pizza is for sharing, and not that many people like green peppers.
Turkey Poo Doesn’t Belong on Pizza
By Jess Duff & Elizabeth Barrett (Grade 4)
I also would not like spicy toppings on my pizza. My dad likes to put this spicy stuff that I call Turkey Poo on his Chinese food. It’s actually sriracha sauce. I call it that because there’s a rooster on the bottle that I thought was a turkey, and it looks like what a turkey might poo out.
Illustration by Jess Duff, Groupon; photos by Elisabeth Mikottis, Groupon.

Burt Katz is a legend in the world of Chicago pizza. Some have called him and his caramelized crust genius. Others have gotten hung up on his famously particular nature—the Tribune called him a "kinda cranky pizza guy." We sent our writer to his current shop, Burt's Place, where the motto on the menu reads, "Pizza for Grown-Ups." She booked an appointment (which is required) and showed up with her husband and their one-year-old. Here are the details of this journey into the history of deep dish.
Though I grew up steps from one of Burt Katz’s original shops, Gulliver’s Pizza (the original location at 2727 W. Howard St. in Rogers Park), I’d never heard of him until a few years ago when the living legend of Chicago pizza appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations.
That’s when I learned that Katz, now proprietor of Burt’s Place in Morton Grove (8541 Ferris Ave.), created the caramelized crust that’s so popular at Pequod’s Pizza (2207 N. Clybourn Ave.). [Note: Pequod’s second Morton Grove location (8520 Fernald Ave.) is just steps from Burt’s Place.]
Now that Burt’s Place is reopened after a long hiatus, my husband and I decided to take our 1-year-old, thinking her first bite of pizza should be a true Chicago classic. Yet the motto emblazoned at the top of the menu gave me pause. “Pizza for Grown-Ups," it read. Everyone knows pizza is for kids—but is Burt’s?
Throughout our meal, I kept my eye out for reasons for and against toting the kids along to this grownup meal.
PLUS: The pizza is ready as soon as you get there.
All parents know that the toughest time during a meal out is that period of purgatory between ordering your meal and actually getting your food. In kid time, a mere 15 minutes drags on like an hour, so parents find themselves scrambling for ways to distract their brood from their rumbling bellies. Not so at Burt’s Place. When you call to make your reservation, you don’t just select a date and time; you also place your order, so your pizza is hot and ready minutes after you walk in the door.
MINUS: The pizza is ready as soon as you get there.
Which leaves no room for last-minute changes, like when the 3-year-old suddenly decides pepperoni reminds her of the monster in her closet.
PLUS: The decor is like a history lesson.
Just about everything hanging on the wood-paneled walls is from a bygone era. On one side of the room sits a gas heater with lines like a ‘57 Chevy. On the shelves behind my husband sat a rank of telephones, some ancient, all wired, any of which would prompt the under-10 set to wonder, “What are those?” Old radios, clocks, and photographs hang everywhere, begging to be pointed at and explained. Burt himself looks like the original hipster, with a long, long beard and a toque always atop his head.
MINUS: You probably shouldn’t touch any of it.
And kids love to touch stuff. Touch it and pull it and examine it and, ultimately, break it. And as hospitable as the waitstaff is, I don’t think they’d appreciate the kid pretending to call my parents on the candlestick telephone.
PLUS: It’s a cozy, warm space.
Together with the wood-paneled walls, and the old stuff, and the kind servers delivering slices for the table, it does feel like you’ve stopped at your uncle’s place for dinner. They’re all happy to see you there, without coming off as fake and frothy. We got the sense that if the kid accidentally knocked our RC colas onto the table and started splashing her hands in it, it would be no big deal.
MINUS: The tables are really close together.
Like, really close together. If the place was filled to capacity, a rambunctious, curious child would be able to weave in and out of them, but a harried parent would find it difficult to corral them. And who wants to have that kid, who’s annoying all the other diners who just want a nice night out?
CONCLUSION:
Though our daughter is not walking yet, the Bean is at that wiggly stage where sitting in a high chair is just not enough. And, like her father before her, she loves pizza and scarfed down the teensy bites I cut for her. But in a few years, will she end up ricocheting off the close-set tables and cause a pizza avalanche? Only time will tell. All I know is that Burt’s actual pizza was great, the caramelized crust perfectly salty and crunchy. (I hate to say that, with its thicker, more unwieldy crust, Pequod’s now rates second-best for me.) I hope my kid grows up to appreciate it, at whatever age.
Illustration by Dav Yendler, Groupon | Explore more Chicago pizza places and Italian restaurants.